How Child Support Is Calculated in Florida

Florida uses an income shares model. The parents' net incomes are combined, a statutory schedule sets the total support amount for that income and number of children, and each parent pays their percentage share. The court may vary the amount by up to 5% without written findings. If a parent has the child at least 20% of overnights a year, a shared-time adjustment applies.

Sign up for services with the Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program if you are the parent or caregiver of a child who needs support. You can complete the online sign-up form or call the Child Support Program. Families who receive cash or food assistance from the Department of Children and Families may already have been referred but should still complete the online form; parents receiving only Medicaid must sign up themselves. The Program contacts you if it needs more information and notifies you by mail when the case is open.

The age of majority in Florida is 18, and support normally ends then. A court may require support beyond 18 for a dependent person whose mental or physical incapacity began before age 18, or for a dependent child between 18 and 19 who is still in high school, performing in good faith, with a reasonable expectation of graduating before 19.

The court or agency that issued an order can change it if either parent's circumstances change; until then the ordered amount is owed. In most cases the change must be substantial, permanent and involuntary. If less than three years have passed since the order was issued, reviewed or changed, a substantial change means the new guideline amount differs by at least 15% and at least $50; if more than three years have passed, the difference must be at least 10% and at least $25. A permanent change generally must have lasted more than a year, and voluntary changes (such as quitting a job) do not qualify. Either parent with a Child Support Program case can ask the Program to review the order, or either parent can file a petition in circuit court.

The Child Support Program monitors payments and can: send income withholding notices to employers; suspend driver, professional and recreational licenses; take cases to court, where outcomes can include payment, contempt of court, work search or job training; file liens on motor vehicles and boats; collect from insurance settlements, IRS tax refunds, workers' compensation and other income; collect from bank accounts; report past-due support to credit agencies; and request passport denial or revocation. A parent who owes past-due support may be able to avoid enforcement actions with a payment agreement.

The Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program is Florida's child support agency. It establishes paternity (including genetic testing), establishes and changes support orders, locates parents, and enforces support through income withholding, payment agreements, driver license suspension and federal tax refund offsets. Sign up for services through the online sign-up form, view case information through eServices (childsupport.floridarevenue.com), and make or receive payments through Smart ePay (fl.smartchildsupport.com). Customer service: 850-488-KIDS (5437) statewide except Miami-Dade, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET weekdays; Miami-Dade County: 1-305-530-2600, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET weekdays.

Florida child support is calculated on the Florida Supreme Court's Family Law Form 12.902(e), Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (06/25), which applies the guidelines in section 61.30, Florida Statutes. Complete it whenever child support is requested; file it with the clerk of the circuit court and serve it on the other party (with your financial affidavit if you know the other party's income, or after the other party files theirs). The Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program notes that online calculators can estimate support but are for informational purposes only, that the court or agency establishing support must use the guidelines, and that amounts can be higher or lower in special circumstances.